


when the sun sets in the east

by ThirtySixSaveFiles



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Roleswap AU, where Akira and Goro's places are swapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 08:13:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17097071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirtySixSaveFiles/pseuds/ThirtySixSaveFiles
Summary: Goro Akechi takes his role as the leader of the Phantom Thieves seriously; and Ryuji gets that, he does. Ryujialsogets that Goro needs to occasionally unwind or he's going to snap.





	when the sun sets in the east

**Author's Note:**

> Tiny take on a roleswap au where Akira's and Goro's places are swapped, and Goro becomes the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Written for a prompt on [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/posts/285530) from [rein_hearts](https://www.pillowfort.io/rein_hearts): "Ryugoro, PT Leader!Akechi, ~~nsfw nice but not required~~ <3." Title from tumblr user [realityphobia](http://realityphobia.tumblr.com) who submitted it for a title meme and I loved it so much that I saved it for a special occasion.

“Do you trust him?” Ryuji props his arm on Goro’s shoulder, watching Goro’s face as Kurusu melts away into the crowd.

“I think we have no choice but to work with him, for now,” Goro replies diplomatically.

“So that's a no.” Ryuji shifts, sliding his arm down until his hand lands on Goro’s shoulder. “We’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry.”

Goro smiles, lifting his own hand to cover Ryuji’s, still looking after the space where Kurusu had disappeared. “I’m not.”

He is, though; Ryuji can tell, even if Goro refuses to say it. It’s there in the distracted set of his shoulders as he goes over the infiltration plan with Makoto, the few seconds too long that it takes him to answer Yusuke’s questions, the preoccupation in his smile as he waves goodbye to Ann and Futaba. Goro’s the type who likes to plan for every eventuality, and Kurusu’s appearance and offer of help is clearly something he hadn’t anticipated.

Ryuji’s more of a go-with-the-flow guy, himself; no use in worrying about the future when today is right in front of you. Maybe if he had the kind of mind that Goro does, sharp as a razor’s edge, evaluating and discarding a hundred responses in the space of a second before he settles on the right one. Ryuji’s a little jealous of the way Goro can handle the adults around them; when Ryuji tries, he ends up sticking his foot in his mouth and making things worse, so he leaves that part to Goro.

This, though; this he can do. He can wait until the others have left Goro’s apartment, until Goro shuts the door behind Haru and makes a beeline back to the table, covered in calling card drafts and notes on Mementos. He can start dinner in Goro’s little kitchen - Ryuji’s mom isn’t expecting him home tonight, and studying is a problem for future Ryuji - and let the clatter of dishes and the sizzle of vegetables and his own idle chatter fill up this little space that Ryuji suspects, in his absence, is cold and quiet as the grave.

Goro blinks, frowning, when Ryuji takes away the papers in front of him and replaces it with a bowl of stir-fry. “Eat,” Ryuji commands, and laughs at the face Goro makes at him. The speed at which Goro devours the bowl would be more gratifying if Ryuji didn’t highly suspect Goro had skipped lunch; even so it sets something warm in his stomach to see Goro chase the last snap pea around the bottom of the bowl.

“What’s bothering you about him?” Ryuji asks as he scoops up the last bit of his own rice, and Goro puts his chopsticks down and sighs.

He doesn’t pretend not to know what Ryuji’s talking about, which is nice; it’s much harder on the nights Ryuji has to needle it out of him. “Kurusu knows too much,” Goro says, picking up his bowl and heading toward the sink. “He’s planning something.”

Ryuji chews thoughtfully. “Any idea what?” He says, swallowing.

Goro’s silence as the water runs speaks for itself. Ryuji picks up his bowl and carries it over, setting it in the sink; Goro’s staring off into the distance, sponge clenched in one hand. Ryuji reaches over the turn the water off.

“You don’t have to know everything all of the time,” he murmurs, sliding an arm around Goro’s waist and taking the sponge from unresisting fingers.

“I  _ do _ ,” Goro says desperately, glaring at the sink. It might be the first honest thing he’s said all evening. “I need - I can’t keep you all safe if I don’t know what’s coming.”

“Hey.” Ryuji settles his hands on Goro’s hips, turning him around so they’re face to face. “We’ll take it on together, yeah? Just like always.”

The ghost of a smile flits across Goro’s lips. “What would I do without you,”  he murmurs.

“You’d be a lot more freakin’ stressed, for one,” Ryuji says, and Goro laughs. “And you wouldn’t eat enough.”

“True.” Goro slides his arms around Ryuji’s neck. “Lucky for me, then, hm?”

“Hell yeah,” Ryuji says before leaning in.

Goro’s lips are as warm as always, and he sighs into Ryuji’s mouth, letting Ryuji take the lead here as nowhere else. Ryuji draws them back toward the bedroom; the dishes will wait. Goro won’t - or at the very least Ryuji refuses to prioritize the washing up over this, over dragging Goro’s shirt up over his head so he can tip them over onto the bed and press open-mouthed kisses down his chest, as if he can draw the tension out of Goro’s skin with his hands and his mouth. Goro holds him tightly, fingers digging into Ryuji’s back as Ryuji deals with their pants enough so he can press their hips together. The first brush of Goro’s cock against his has Ryuji biting his lip on an inrush of air, and he takes them both in hand quickly, stroking hard and fast because he can’t wait; neither can Goro, from the way his hips are pushing up into Ryuji’s hand.

Goro comes first; he nearly always does, but Ryuji never gets tired of it, of his face wiped clean of everything but this, of Ryuji’s hands on him and Ryuji’s name on his lips. The sight is enough to push him over the edge, and he buries his face in Goro’s neck as he grinds out his release against Goro’s stomach.

Goro’s hand pets through his hair as he catches his breath, and Ryuji can almost  _ hear _ the gears start to move again in Goro’s brain so he lifts his head and captures his mouth in a kiss, slow and easy, like they’ve got all the time in the world.

“No more worrying,” he says as when they break apart. “Not about him, not about us, not tonight. We’re not going anywhere.” That’s what Goro’s really worried about, Ryuji knows; he holds each member of the Phantom Thieves tightly, like they’re a treasure to be guarded jealously. It’s why he stays up late planning infiltrations down to the last detail, why he takes each injury to the team, no matter how small, as a personal affront.

“And what about you?” Goro says softly, then presses his lips together like maybe he hadn’t meant to say it at all, but he can’t figure out how to take it back, and Ryuji has to kiss him again for that.

“Thought someone as smart as you would’ve figured it out by now,” he murmurs against Goro’s cheek. “You’re  _ definitely _ not getting rid of me.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at thirtysixsavefiles on [Tumblr](http://thirtysixsavefiles.tumblr.com/) and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/thirtysixsavefiles)!


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